


Maid of Honor

by sophie_evelyn



Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: AU, F/F, because this one is, can fanfics be rom coms?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-10-31 08:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17845706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophie_evelyn/pseuds/sophie_evelyn
Summary: Lou hadn't heard from Debbie, her former girlfriend and love of her life, in years. She gets a call from her out of the blue asking her to be the maid of honor at her wedding. Old feelings resurface and Debbie wonders if she's walking down the aisle with the wrong person.





	1. My Ex- Girlfriend's Wedding

**Author's Note:**

> We all know Sandy is the Queen of rom-coms and Ocean's was certainly missing the romance factor for our girls. This might be terrible but I hope it isn't! Please, please let me know if you guys like this or equally, if it's just totally not working. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and here's a shameless plug for my tumblr - millerocean if you have any cool ideas which I can try and fit into this because I just really want this to be a happy and fun little rom-com fic :)

Debbie Ocean. Debbie fucking Ocean. She was the reason that she had been stuck in standstill traffic for the past three hours. She was the reason that she had left her new, reasonably happy but ultimately invigorating life, hopping from city to city and making a hot load of cash while she did so. She was supposed to be heading to Chicago next. She had been researching a particular, unprofessional law firm and she was convinced that she would be able to get ahold of their files and either, sell them on for top dollar or sell them back to them for twice the offering price. Unfortunately, that particular scam would have to wait. For now, she was heading back to New York City.

She hadn’t seen Debbie in years and she had only known that she had gotten engaged due to the frequent social media stalking sessions that she had carried out when she was drunk and feeling particularly alone. She and Debbie had history, a long, complicated history which could be summarized as being a combination of intense love and an even more intense heartbreak. The worst thing was that she had never seen the heartbreak coming and even when it had hit her; she hadn’t expected it to last. A small part of her always believed that she’d end up with Debbie but it seemed that she no longer owned her heart, now, it belonged to some pompous socialite named Claude Becker.

She had seen a photo of them together on one of Debbie’s social media accounts. He looked just as she had imagined him to; tall, tanned, reasonably good looking if you were into that sort of thing. He reminded her of a younger Hugh Grant; he had that trademark smug grin down to a tee. That picture still haunted her; it was the very depiction of that sensible, comfortable life that Debbie had always said that she had never wanted.

She and Debbie hadn’t only been dating, they had been partners too; the criminal kind. In fact, Debbie had always seemed to be the one who was more into the life of crime than she had been. They worked so well together, always had done. There was a time when she couldn’t have even imagined Debbie wanting out but then the truth had emerged; like a boulder off of a mountain, crashing down hard and completely out of the blue.

It had been Debbie’s fortieth birthday, they had a lot of tequila and Debbie had spilled her heart out to her. She had, apparently, ‘grown out’ of life on the run, she wanted a stable income and a family, she wanted to live the ‘simple life’. She wanted everything that Lou didn’t and she knew that she’d never be able to live like that and deep down; she knew that not even Debbie actually wanted that. They had spent the rest of the night arguing, a blazing row that had left them both breathless and tearful in the worst imaginable way. She had ended up leaving and that was the last time that she had seen her.

Years later, she had accepted the fact that they were over; yet, she still hadn’t settled down with anyone else. One heartbreak was enough for her and she certainly preferred to keep it to just the one. That first phone call from Debbie had been a surprise, to say the least. She still had her number saved in her phone, not having the heart to delete her from it, even though; she knew that she should have done.

She had been at a bar; playing a game of pool against a drunken guy who had bet her $100 that she couldn’t beat him. Debbie’s name had flashed up on her cell and she had frozen. It was like the whole world had stopped at that moment, a lump had formed in her throat and her skin had pimpled with icy goosebumps. She had ignored it, Debbie must have called her number by mistake or maybe she had drunk dialed; whatever it was, she couldn’t handle it, not whilst in a bar with a bunch of strangers and with a far too sober head on her shoulders. She had gone home with a random woman that night, the hotel paid for by the $100 that she had won from that drunken guy. She had checked her phone repeatedly for days after that, wondering if Debbie would try again to contact her.

The second call had come at a time when she was feeling much more vulnerable; almost an entire week since the last attempt had been made. She was drinking alone in some cheap motel room, angry over a small con job that hadn’t gone according to plan; it always was harder when she was working alone.

After she had ignored that call, all she had done was scream. She’d screamed for what seemed like hours, releasing all of that rage and hurt that she had kept inside of her for years. The screams had been followed by tears and God, she was mad, so mad that Debbie still had that heart-shattering effect on her, even after all the time that had elapsed.

The third time that she had called, she had been genuinely busy. She had kept her phone muted while she was on a job, nothing major, just a small swindle but it had worked out well for her. She had come out of it much richer and her confidence had been high. If there had been a time when she would want to talk to Debbie it would have been then. Debbie had left her a voicemail this time and she had been itching to listen to it right away but she had remained cautious because, really, what the hell would Debbie be calling her for anyway? They hadn’t spoken in years.

As soon as she had returned to her motel room she’d sat down on the edge of the bed and played the message. It was painfully short and gave very little away, which was so typical of Debbie; she always did like to keep her guessing. Her voice had sounded different to how she had remembered it and she played the message again; just to take in the newly breezy tone of her former lover’s voice. She had sounded tense and the intonation in her voice had risen a little higher than it had ever been before. She had sounded nervous and Debbie Ocean never got nervous.

Having spent minutes of replaying the message over and over again, followed by some anxious pacing, she knew what she had to do. She had pressed the call back button and once again, she had started pacing, only this time it was done so subconsciously. Debbie hadn’t answered right away and she wondered whether it was because she was panicking upon seeing that it was her who was calling. She’d sighed then, who was she kidding? Debbie had moved on, she was engaged to a man for crying out loud.

“Hey, uh, you called back?” Debbie had answered after a painstakingly long time which, in reality, had probably only been a few seconds. She had sounded upbeat and again, her intonation had been unusually high, maybe this was just how the new Debbie spoke.

Lou had cleared her throat, she had hoped that Debbie would have been ‘all business’ and just gotten straight to the point, no such luck. “Yeah, well, you sounded urgent. You need help with a heist or somethin’?”

Debbie had laughed, an unusual laugh which sounded like she had swallowed a tank of helium. “I’m not into that anymore.” Her voice had turned quieter, as if she hadn’t wanted anyone around her to hear what she was saying.

That laugh had only confused her more, how long had she been away from Debbie for? It seemed like she had undergone an entire personality makeover. “Right, of course. I forgot, you got all boring.”

Debbie had tutted, actually tutted, and Lou was about ready to hang up when Debbie had started to speak again. “Don’t be like that. We did have some good times back then, didn’t we? A lot of fun.” She’d hummed reminiscently, “a whole lot of fun.”

“Fun, yeah.” She had been waiting for the real Debbie to come to the phone and tell her that this act had all been part of a joke but the longer that she had been speaking to her, the less likely that seemed. Another hum had been sent down the line and she’d feared that Debbie might've burst out into song had she not have spoken up. “No offence, Ocean but I’ve got shit to do. Did you need something or what?”

“I’m getting married.” Debbie had responded with little to no emotion in her voice. It was as if she had been reading off of a prompt card or something, this new Debbie was certainly a headfuck.

Lou had taken a deep breath, quickly remembering that she shouldn’t have been aware of this news. If only deleting your actual history was as easy as deleting your internet history. “Woah, congratulations. Do you want me to steal you a ring?” She hadn’t hidden the sarcasm in her voice nor the chuckle that had escaped afterward.

“Lou, I’m being serious. Just listen to me for a minute, yeah?”

Had that been a piece of the real Debbie shining through? “Go ahead.” She had prompted, intrigued by what it would be that Debbie would say next, she'd doubted that it would hold any substance.

Another hum had come from Debbie, again, another characteristic which had been pretty much void in the past version of her. “You were a massive part of my life, we were together for what? Ten years?”

Lou had rolled her eyes; Debbie knew full well that they had been together for longer than a decade. They had spent the best part of their lives together. “Fifteen and a half, although we were unofficial for half of that, remember?”

“Right. Anyway, would you like to be my maid of honor?”

She’d been silent, collecting her thoughts because she had not expected that to come from Debbie. The audacity of that woman, not speaking to her for years and then asking her, her ex-girlfriend no less, to be her maid of honor. “Seriously? You don’t have any boring, married friends in your new life?”

“Lou, you’re important to me. I want you to be my maid of honor, not some stuck up second cousin of Claude’s. Please, think about it, I know it’s a lot to ask but it would mean a lot. Plus, it’s an all paid for two weeks at the Hamptons, bacholerette party included. I know you’ll find some mischief to get yourself into.” She had laughed then and Lou had found it all to be far too condescending.

“I’ll think about it.” She’d answered and frankly, Debbie was damn lucky that she hadn’t cursed her out.

“Thank you, I’ll call you next week. You really do mean a lot to me, you know?” Debbie’s voice had softened, so slightly that she wouldn’t have even noticed had she not have dated her for fifteen and half god damn years.

“Yeah, bye.” Lou had ended the call and had thrown the phone onto the bed as if it were a scolding hot piece of coal burning straight into her skin.

She had tried to forget about that conversation for the remainder of the week, doing everything that she could do to keep her mind away from the past but it had been so hard, especially when her heart seemed to stop every time that a brunette had walked past her. She had planned out a specific map of where her new jobs would be taking place, traveling was certainly a perk of her chosen career and it would definitely keep her mind off of that charade of a wedding.

She had wanted to say no, she had always planned on saying no. She didn’t want to see this new Debbie who was getting married in the Hamptons and probably had royalty attending, along with Us Weekly. It all seemed so false and she wanted to play no part in it. She really had no intention on agreeing to attend; but, as soon as Debbie started speaking in that high pitched, airy voice that she had newly adopted and spoke all those delicious words to her about the past, and how much she had missed her and how she ‘simply could not miss the wedding’; she had become nothing more than putty in Debbie’s hands. And that was how she had agreed to be maid of honor at her ex-girlfriend’s wedding.

It seemed like everything about Debbie had changed, everything that was, apart from the way that she still melted entirely whenever she spoke to her. She had agreed, and it wasn’t even as if she had done it reluctantly. Despite everything, all the change, all the moving on, she still wanted to see her. She wanted to make sure that she was okay and maybe, it would do her the world of good too. Seeing Debbie marry somebody else would give her some much-needed closure. It would be cathartic, hopefully, and she would leave the vacation feeling like a new woman. It would be a marriage for Debbie and an emancipation for her.

“It’ll be good for me.” She said under her breath as the sign pointing towards the Hamptons came into sight. Her motorcycle growled beneath her as she made the turning off of the highway, as if it was warning her that this was in fact, a very bad idea. Still, it was too late to go back now, and if she played her cards right, she’d be able to rip off a few rich folk, at least.


	2. What Happened in that Vegas Motel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, thank you so much for the feedback on the first chapter. I hope you enjoy this one!

Debbie drummed her fingers impatiently on the arm of the sun lounger; her diamond ring catching the sun every so often, reminding her of the reality of the situation. This wasn’t just a catch up with an old friend; this was going to be a two-week reunion with the love of her life. She shifted in her seat, the _former_ love of her life.

She marveled her engagement ring, twisting her finger around so that it glistened brightly in front of her. It was perfect and her wedding was going to be perfect. She would no longer have to worry about where her next paycheck was coming from, she’d never have to stay in some dank motel ever again and she wouldn’t have to worry about the cops being on her ass. Her new life was going to be perfect.

She dropped her hand, the light beginning to hurt her eyes despite the dark glasses that she was wearing. Lou was late. She should have expected that, she always did like to make an entrance. She had invited her over a day before the rest of the bridal party, not knowing how she or Lou would react to spending time with one another after so long.

She pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head to gain a clearer view of her surroundings; she wondered whether Lou would even show up. She had no backup plan, and she was starting to regret that. Maybe it would have been easier to have someone else be her maid of honor; it would certainly save herself some heartache that was for sure.

And Lou, she had no idea what state of mind she was in nowadays, they had completely lost touch. Maybe she had made a mistake in inviting Lou. It was hardly like they had ended on great terms.

* * *

_She hadn’t been serious, not really anyway. It was a blasé comment that had tumbled out of her mouth after one too many tequila shots._

_“I’m tired of all of this.” She slammed the empty glass onto the table and waved her arm in the air, in an attempt to signify what ‘this’ was referring to._

_Lou held the shot of tequila to her lips and placed it back down without taking it. “What do you mean?” She asked, her heart already starting to eat away at her chest. The previous giggly mood leaving the room almost as quickly as it had arrived and the tense silence that had replaced it was almost unbearable._

_The look in Lou’s eye caused her to pause and she stared at the table, avoiding that anxious look that was being aimed at her. She blinked, not being able to gather the correct words, her vision was already starting to blur and she was regretting taking that last shot. She brushed a hand through her hair, lifting her head up as she did so. “I’m forty now, forty.”_

_Lou scoffed. “So? What difference does that make? I’m gonna be planning heists till the day I die. Thought you were gonna do the same?” Her tone was teasing, because surely Debbie wasn’t being serious. The Debbie who had planned hundreds of heists with her and the Debbie who had always ridden on the back of her motorcycle afterward; freely and vibrantly with seemingly no cares in the world._

_Debbie pulled herself upright, her form rigid and unyielding. “You’re saying that cos you’re thirty six.” She emphasized the number, as if their four year age gap made all the difference in the world._

_A laugh passed Lou’s lips and she shook her head, Debbie was acting ridiculously. “Are you fucking with me?”_

_She shook her head despite realizing that maybe she was acting a little too irrationally. “No. I need to get my shit together.” She paused again, she didn’t have many friends, Lou was all that she needed. The acquaintances that she did have though, were all married. It never did bother her, marriage was something that she barely believed in and she never had been a fan of kids. Her parents thought otherwise though, each time that she spoke to them they would ask her if she was engaged yet and each time she would disappoint them. Lou drank her previously discarded shot and Debbie drew her hand to her temple. “Most people my age have a family, a marriage, kids. They at least have a fucking home. We move around cities on a monthly basis.”_

_Lou slammed the glass on the table, Debbie’s sudden attack on their lives catching her off guard. “We ain’t most people. And you know, most people would kill for what we have.”_

_“I’m forty, Lou.” Debbie stated flatly._

_She shook her head, “You’re stupid that’s what you are.”_

_Debbie rolled her eyes, she should have dropped it. Instead, she acted upon her stubbornness; she stood up, messily and forcibly. “I’m not stupid, I’m realistic. Look at us, getting drunk on a Tuesday night in a motel in wherever the hell we are. That ain’t success.”_

_“It was good enough for you for fifteen years.” Lou had stood up too, her arms folded across her chest._

_“Well, maybe it’s time we grow up.” She yelled, the bitterness in her words biting and cold. She turned her back to Lou, not wanting to see her reaction because she knew that what she had said was below the belt._

_“Yeah, maybe,” was all that she could say. And then she stormed out, grabbing her belongings on the way. She needed space but not even she could have predicted just how much space was to come between herself and Debbie._

* * *

Debbie had wanted to call her so many times after that fight, to apologize and tell her that she was all that she really wanted, but her stubbornness had always gotten in the way. It still hurt her to think that their relationship had crashed and burned all due to some drunken midlife crisis that she had formed inside her head.

It had gotten easier over time, and she believed that she may as well live out this picture perfect dream that had broken her and Lou up in the first place. She rented an apartment in the city, managed to secure herself a reasonable job, using reasonably legal ways to do so and gradually, she had started to date other people.

A clearing of a throat caught her attention and Lou was standing right there, right in front of her and it was like all those years had been nothing more than minutes; it was like looking at the same person that she had looked at thousands of times before. She still wore those tight leather pants and her hair was still blonde with those bangs framing her face perfectly. She still stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes still burned into her making her heart race that tiny bit faster than it should do and she still got that dry feeling in her throat with every breath that she took. The only difference was that she was now seven years older but, God, did she wear those years well.

Debbie licked her lips, hoping the action would prevent her voice from coming out as nothing more than a hoarse whisper, unfortunately for her, it failed. “I was scared you weren’t gonna show.” She grabbed the ends of her kimono and wrapped the long material around her; her heart rate slowly beginning to return to normal.

Lou shifted slightly, the back yard that they were standing in was huge and the house behind them was even bigger; but all of that seemed to be void because her attention was solely on Debbie. She was much more tan than she had been before and her hair was more styled. Her makeup was darker and her lips glistened in the sunlight, blinding her for a moment until she heard her voice. She pulled her eyes away from her, focusing on the pool in the distance. “Yeah, so was I.” She replied and she saw Debbie start to tense up which only caused her to do the same.

Debbie studied her manicure for a moment, glancing up to see where Lou’s eyes were occupied. She noticed that she was no longer staring at her and she didn’t know quite how to feel about that. She lurched forward, wrapping her old friend into a tight hug. She could feel how stiff her body was and it took a couple of seconds for her to relax and reciprocate. When she did, it was, again, as if nothing had changed. She still smelled the same, her hair still tickled her neck in the same way and their bodies still seemed to fit against each other’s so perfectly. At some point, she had closed her eyes and she was beginning to lose herself in the past. She instantly pulled away, masking her face with an overly friendly smile, “Did you come far?” She asked, stepping back a pace to create a small distance between them.

It was like she had forgotten that they had dated for so long, as if she had forgotten that there was a time that she had known her inside out. She recognized this behavior only too well, Debbie was acting. “Far enough,” she shrugged effortlessly, not wanting to give her the details of the life that she had given up on. She turned around to face the building behind her. It looked like one of those gigantic houses that were used in period dramas; she was half expecting a bunch of Victorians to appear from it. “Nice place,” she said, continuing to admire the building in front of her.

“Thanks, it belongs to the future in-laws.” She was standing up straighter now, the lack of Lou’s attention on her seeming to rebuild the confidence that had been knocked from her when she had first seen her.

She had to try not to throw up then and she bit down on the venom that was threatening to escape from her lips. “Well if you’re gonna get married then it might as well be to a millionaire, right?” She glanced at Debbie who had stepped forward and was now standing beside her, their shoulders almost touching.

Debbie let that remark go, really, she was expecting one far worse. Her eyes were glued to Lou, who was staring intently on the house. Her eyes looked sad, and she could tell that this whole situation was hard for her too; Lou always had found it hard to mask her emotions. She brushed her hand against Lou’s, about to slip her fingers between hers but she thought better of it and instead went back to folding her arms once she had caught her attention. “This is awkward, can this not be awkward?” She asked once Lou was looking at her again.

Debbie’s hand against hers caused her heart to stop, not literally but it definitely felt like it had. She didn’t like whatever game that it was that Debbie was playing. She slipped her hand into the back pocket of her pants so that she wouldn’t try it again. “What did you expect, Deb? That things were just gonna be like they were before? You’re marrying someone. You always said you weren’t the marrying type.” She saw her face fall then, her mask slipping and the familiar defiance that she often attributed had returned.

“I’m not getting into this with you, I grew up.” She shook her head; the bitterness in her voice was so evident that not even she could deny it.

“Is that a dig at me? Cos if it is I can get on my bike and get outta here. I came here as a favor to you.” Lou spat back just as quickly as Debbie had done previously. She didn’t come here for a fight, she came here for closure.

She bowed her head, stopping for a moment to try and understand things from Lou’s point of view. She was the one that had invited her, she was the one getting married and this was her home ground, so to speak, Lou was definitely in a harder position than she was. She let out a breath of air and her shoulders became less firm. “I’m sorry, okay? I don’t wanna fight. I wanted you here because you’re special to me.” She smiled, allowing herself to be genuine for once.

She could see Debbie’s entire façade beginning to diminish and she hoped that meant that the real Debbie would be returning, the Debbie of her past who was funny and exciting and always made her feel unstoppable. She couldn’t get ahead of herself though; she wouldn’t let herself fall back into the Debbie trap. She realized then, when her palms were beginning to sweat, that this thing that she had agreed to was in fact, very dangerous. Unlike, a heist, it wasn’t her ass on the line, it was her heart and that was perhaps the most dangerous thing that she could gamble with. She dropped her hand from her pocket, she was an adult, she was strong. She wasn’t going to let herself fall for Debbie again. “When’s everyone else arriving?” She asked, just to clear the silence that had taken over.

Debbie seemed to ease a little, sensing that maybe Lou was becoming more approachable. “Various times. I wanted you to come up first though. We have lots to catch up on.” She motioned toward the house and she and Lou both started to walk toward the conservatory.  

There was no going back now and Lou picked up her bag from the ground and slung it over her shoulder, following Debbie and making sure to leave an appropriate distance between them. “When do I meet the man of the moment?” She asked, not really wanting to meet him but she knew once she did, once she saw Debbie with him, that that would be the first step to gaining complete closure.

Debbie looked over her shoulder, that painted on smile reappearing. “He’s coming down tomorrow. It’s just us two tonight; I thought we could have a girls night. Crack open the wine, laugh about the past, that sort of thing.” She hadn’t even told Claude about Lou. Obviously, she had told him that she was going to be the maid of honor but he didn’t know about their past and she was still unsure about how to bring that topic up with him.

She’d be lying if she’d said that the idea of a drunken night of reminiscing didn’t sound appealing. In fact, it sounded almost too appealing. She would certainly be monitoring the amount of alcohol that would be passing through her system. Of course, she couldn’t let Debbie know that though, so instead, she smiled; “By wine you mean vodka, right?”

Debbie laughed, the deep, real laugh that Lou used to love so much. “Of course. We can dip into the wedding supply, it won’t be missed.” She held out her hand to take Lou’s bag which seemed suspiciously small for a two-week stay but she didn’t say anything about it. Lou handed it over and she walked them through to the next room; “Come on, I’ll show you around. Your room is down the hall from mine.”

Lou followed behind, the grandeur of the house failing to distract her from the view of Debbie’s back, her curves, her ass. She swallowed; she should not be looking at her ass. She knew that this whole situation was going to be awkward but she hadn’t expected it to be so damn hard.


End file.
